King Thranduil walked around the quarters Legolas and Alannah shared, taking in what was once just his son's room. The scent in the air had changed, instead of his son's usual scent of grass and trees the smell of daisies seemed to mingle with the aroma. He wasn't quite sure why he was there to begin with, but something drew him to it. Their bed had already been made and their curtains drawn tight in their absence. The king could feel the love and romance in the atmosphere of the room, nights full of lovemaking and laughing obvious. A great sadness fell over the king when he realized the last time he had sensed those things for himself. A pile of unopened wedding gifts still covered the table in the middle of the large room, the couple obviously not having had the time to open them before leaving for an extended stay in Minas Tirith.
He sauntered over to their armoire to find it almost empty save for a few bits of clothing here and there. Their absence suddenly felt daunting to the king who was already contemplating on how to ask them to return. He sighed as he closed the armoire and walked out of their room, ensuring the door was locked before descending the stairs.
The throne room was empty save for the few guards the king always had stationed within and he placed himself back on the throne to tend to the rest of the days duties. Little was needed of him that day as he enjoyed several jugs of his favorite Dorwinian wine, occasionally sitting down his glass when it needed to be refilled. Without him having to command the hand servant, his goblet was instantly replenished with the crimson drink. He smirked as he brought it to his lips, satisfied as he began to feel its calming effects.
"I will retire for the remainder of the evening. Do not disturb me." The king ordered as he stepped down from his throne. His guards bowed deeply to him as he walked passed, their loyalty to their king unwavering.
Alone in his quarters after having changed into his night robes, the king poured himself yet another goblet full of wine and sat down on the edge of his bed. It was just as large as the one Legolas and Alannah now shared, having been meant for two sleeping bodies instead of one. He took a deep breath and pulled the box out from beneath his bed, sitting it beside him and carefully opening it up. The necklace shown brightly as it always did, except just slightly less since he gifted the largest gem to Alannah at the wedding ceremony. Gently he traced his finger over the precious gems, remembering how they were returned in a box from Erebor that was mysteriously left at the corner of his kingdom shortly after Legolas returned from Gondor.
It was at this time ever night when the king would feel an overwhelming sense of loneliness, but there was something different about this night where his loneliness seemed even more pronounced. He quickly finished his wine and let the goblet drop to the floor before reclining into the bed, turning on his side to look at the spot that had lay vacant for many years. Shakily, he reached his hand out to touch the hem of her pillow only to draw it back as if the soft silk pillow case caused him physical pain.
"Elarinya, I miss you meleth nin." Thranduil whispered. A few tears fell from his eyes, staining his pillow as they had done many times. His mind drifted back to her memory, that seemed to fade little by little as the long centuries passed. Her long blonde hair, peaceful blue eyes and her soft fair skin was still easy to make out. However, it was her voice and the way it seemed to soothe the most troubled of souls was ever fading.
Thranduil gently moved closer to her pillow and deeply inhaled, the faintest scent of roses and moss bringing back her memory in full force. Many nights they had made love in that very bed and just the thought of it was enough to arouse him. He allowed his hand to travel beneath his robes and stroke his hardness while he kept his eyes tightly shut, thinking of nothing but her. It had been so long since he felt his wife's tender touch and he tried to replicate it one soft stroke at a time. His head sunk into the pillows as he felt himself getting closer to the brink of climax. After a moment he stopped, withdrawing his hand and not allowing himself to finish...never allowing himself to finish. He pushed himself to sit on the bed and look around the empty room, the solitude closing in around him. He slammed the box of gems shut and began to weep once again at the realization of his aloneness, yearning even more so that he could be with his wife just one more time.
~
After riding all morning and most of the afternoon, Legolas and Alannah finally saw Minas Tirith in the distance. They exchanged playful glances before kicking their horses and galloping furiously, each trying to reach the gates first. They laughed loudly as their hair whipped wildly in their faces, enjoying the lightheartedness of their play. Legolas caught a glimpse of some activity at the gates of the city and yelled at Alannah to slow her pace.
"Wait meleth nin! I see something." He hollered above the galloping. Alannah looked ahead and saw what looked to be some sort of rebuilding under way as she slowed her horse to a gentle trot, allowing Legolas to move his horse in front of her to lead the way.
"A pointy eared elvish princeling!" Gimli yelled out as they approached. Legolas quickly dismounted his horse, watching as several dwarves rebuilt the city's gates that were damaged during the war.
"A greedy, stubborn dwarf." Legolas quipped. Gimli laughed as he walked towards Legolas, staring him down. After a moment the two embraced one another, evidence of the deep friendship the two had.
"And Alannah!" Gimli gasped as he pulled away from Legolas and walked over to her horse. She smiled as she quickly dismounted, kneeling to accept Gimli's hug. "So pointy ears found you after all!"
Alannah nodded as she moved aside some of Gimli's long hair that was tickling her nose.
"He did, and I almost shot him with an arrow." Alannah joked. Gimli's boisterous laugh seemed to echo as he looked back at Legolas.
"Why did you miss girly? We'll have to have a talk about that." He replied as he winked at her. "Go on! I'll see the two of you at dinner."
~
"Aragorn!" Legolas exclaimed as he and Alannah dismounted their horses. He ran to his longtime friend and embraced him before they each took a step back and bowed respectfully to one another. Alannah smiled as she stepped back and watched them, taking notice of the beautiful white blooms on the tree in the courtyard. Quickly she realized that for the first time she was happy to be back in Minas Tirith, a stark contrast to the dread she once felt upon returning to the great city.
"Princess of the Woodland Realm." Aragorn stated softly as he turned to bow to Alannah. She bowed in return before the two embraced one another. "I'm so happy for you." Aragorn whispered into her ear before letting her go. Legolas walked over and grasped her hand to follow Aragorn inside the throne room.
"We should get our bags first." Alannah alerted as she tried turning back to the horses. Legolas and Aragorn exchanged glances before chuckling under their breath.
"You are royalty now; our belongings will be brought to our rooms." Legolas explained. Alannah shrugged her shoulders, feeling uneasy about having others waiting on her constantly. Still she followed her husband and friend into the throne room, ready to settle in for their extended stay.
"The Queen of Gondor!" Aragorn exclaimed as he walked up to Arwen and wrapped his arms around her waist. She laughed aloud and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before making her way over to greet Alannah and Legolas.
"I'm so happy to see you two are well." Arwen said softly as she hugged Legolas. She moved to embrace Alannah, sensing the connection between the couple. "And newlyweds as well!"
"Let's let them settle into their rooms and we can catch up over dinner." Aragorn whispered. Arwen nodded in agreement to her husband and directed them to Alannah's old room. There was something different about Arwen since she saw her in Rivendell, but quickly she disregarded it as being a long time since she had seen her. After all, this fall would make it almost an entire year.
"We'll see you this evening." Arwen said softly as she closed the door, leaving the couple alone to unpack their belongings. Alannah glanced around, the room much the same as she left it except now there were fresh linens on the bed and overall it seemed somehow lighter in the atmosphere than what she was accustomed to. She sighed when she noticed their bags were indeed brought to their room for them and quickly grabbed them to unpack.
"Smile meleth nin!" Legolas exclaimed as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her onto the bed with him. Alannah couldn't help but to laugh as they tumbled onto the bed. "You are far too beautiful not to."
"Hush." She giggled as she jokingly smacked his arm. He pressed a kiss to her cheek as he moved to finish the unpacking.
"Aragorn wishes to speak to me about something." Legolas revealed as he began to hang up their clothes in the armoire, grinning when he noticed Alannah's old diaries were still pushed to the back. Alannah sat up on the bed with a confused expression on his face.
"He didn't say anything. What makes you think that?" She questioned. Legolas turned around and moved to sit beside her.
"I've known him a very long time, I can tell. Well, there are two things he will tell me. First that they are expecting their first born, the second I am not so sure." Legolas said as he laid back on the bed. Alannah furrowed her brow, not having noticed Arwen to be pregnant.
"How can you tell she is with child?" Alannah asked in disbelief. Legolas pulled her down to lay in his arms.
"You mean to tell me you didn't notice anything different about her?" Legolas asked as if it should have been obvious. Alannah knew there was something different about her, but never would have thought that.
"So soon after their wedding?" Alannah mused. Legolas counted in his head how many weeks since Aragorn's coronation.
"Of course. They've been wed for a couple months now since his coronation ceremony." Legolas explained. Alannah looked down at her own flat stomach, now feeling a slight twinge of jealousy. He quickly picked up on it and rolled on top of her, taking her face tenderly in his hands.
"We've only just married meleth nin. We have all the time in the world to bring a child forth." He comforted as he kissed her lips softly. "Besides, it will probably be sooner than later with as busy as we stay." Legolas winked at her as he got off the bed and walked into the bathroom to run her a bath.
Alannah closed her eyes, trying to envision what their future held. She still felt a bit of guilt about their talk in the woods the night before, feeling that maybe she wasn't trying hard enough in the woodland realm. When the water shut off in the bathroom she quickly undressed and pushed her thoughts aside. Legolas helped her sink into the hot water and left the bathroom, leaving Alannah alone with her thoughts.
~
After dinner, Aragorn and Legolas walked in the courtyard and left the wives to catch up and become better acquainted in the library. The night was warm with little breeze as they walked past the white tree and to the high edge of the courtyard. Legolas noticed the end of the courtyard wall that had once been open where Denethor leapt to his death and where Aragorn pulled Alannah from the edge had been newly filled in, preventing such incidents from ever happening again.
"Mellon nin." Aragorn stated as he placed his hand on Legolas's shoulder. Legolas nodded in return as he watched Aragorn gaze out across the land of Gondor, lost in his own thoughts.
"You need my help with something." Legolas stated. Aragorn turned to him and nodded.
"You've already done so much, debts that cannot be repaid my friend. I have asked Faramir to rule Ithilien, he deserves it and I am confident in his abilities." Aragorn explained. "However, the land is no better for wear. The trees, the grass, the wildlife is in peril."
Legolas nodded his head in agreement, certain the war-ravaged land was in terrible shape.
"What are you asking me? We've known each other too long for you to hesitate as you are." Legolas answered. Aragorn lowered his head, sometimes forgetting the accurate observance of elves.
"Would you and Alannah be interested in starting an elven colony in Ithilien? Bring some relief to the lands?" Aragorn finally asked. Legolas looked out into the lands of Gondor towards where he knew Ithilinen was. He tossed the idea back and forth in his head, constantly thinking back to his father in the woodland realm and the talk he and Alannah had the night before.
"You will be here all summer, you do not have to make your decision now. Come let's go find our wives." Aragorn announced as he turned to walk back towards the throne room.
"Yes, I'll just be a minute." Legolas called over his shoulder as he stared into the lands as the sun finally set.